As you can imagine, preparing a menu of that size takes a lot of extra food and extra work – on top of the effort that’s involved in serving an average of 1,297 meals to people in need every day of the year.

The Ottawa Mission simply couldn’t do it without support from so many caring people – both donors and volunteers.

The donations of meals and turkeys, and the precious gift of time from volunteers will ensure hundreds of people have a chance to come together for Thanksgiving Dinner at a time when they need our help. Along with people staying in shelters right now, we often see young families struggling to make ends meet attend these holiday events, or seniors who live alone and aren’t able to make a turkey dinner for themselves. One grandmother comes every year with her grand-daughter and says that this special celebration gives them a real sense of belonging to the community – plus the food is always great!

To help make this Thanksgiving special for someone who is hungry, homeless or alone, click here to make a donation today.